Nathan Hale collection, 1773-1832 (bulk 1773-1776).

1.97 linear feet (3 boxes)

English

Acquired from various sources. For more information, see copies of catalog cards filed with the collection.

This material is open for research.

Nathan Hale (1755-1776), graduate of Yale College (Yale 1773), teacher, and officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Executed by the British as a spy on September 22, 1776, he is reported to have said, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."

Autograph letters and documents by, addressed to and about Nathan Hale. Box 1 contains five autograph letters by Nathan Hale: autograph letter, signed, to Betsy Christopher, 1775 October 8, from Camp Winter Hill in Boston; autograph letter, signed, to his brother, Enoch Hale, 1776 June 3, from New York, describing military preparations and the current state of the Continental Army; a comic verse autograph letter, signed, to his Yale classmate, Benjamin Talmadge, undated; an autograph verse letter to an unidentified recipient describing scenes at Camp Winter Hill, undated; and an autograph letter fragment to an unidentified correspondent, undated. Letters to Nathan Hale, all dating from 1773-1776, include autograph letters by Betsy Hallam; John Hallam; Robert Latimer; William Little; Elihu Marvin; Gilbert Saltonstall; Benjamin Talmadge; and Ebenezer Williams. A 1777 March 27 letter from Nathan Hale's father, Richard Hale, to Samuel Hale comments on the rumor that Nathan had been betrayed by his cousin and notes that he was "a Child I sot much by but he is gone." Other papers include Elisha Bostwick's memoir of his services in the Revolutionary War, which mentions Nathan Hale; and twentieth-century photostats, notes, and documents concerning Nathan Hale's life and genealogy. Box 2 contains Hale's military receipt book for wages, arms and ammunitions he issued to his men, with their counter-signatures under each receipt, 1776 June-August. Box 3 contains an autograph letter, signed, from Nathan Hale to "Mr. Mead," 1774 May 2; and Nathan Hale's commission as a captain in the "Army of the United Colonies," printed form filled out in manuscript, signed by John Hancock, President, 1776 January 1.

June 13, 2014

Nathan Hale Collection. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Nathan Hale Collection. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.